Sen. Patty Ritchie says the state budget includes enough funding to provide services for up to 270 additional patients in the North Country's six-county region.

Ritchie says the budget includes $44 million in new funding for community-based mental health care, including $3.85 million in new funds for the creation and expansion of community-based mental health services in the North Country.

She says the additional aid will provide treatment for up to 270 additional North Country residents.

“The North Country community fought long and hard for the protection of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center and the vitally important services the facility provides to those struggling with mental health issues and their families,” a release from Ritchie says. “This new funding represents a new investment in the mental health care our region offers and further solidifies the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center’s playing a central role in delivering the quality and compassionate care our community depends upon.”

Ritchie says she has been focused on the economic development potential of unused lands at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center.

Her proposal to authorize the transfer of 45 acres of vacant land at the campus to the City of Ogdensburg as part of a broad plan to redevelop unused parcels at the site to create jobs was included in the newly-enacted State Budget.

Ritchie represents a large portion of St. Lawrence County including the City of Ogdensburg and towns of Canton, Gouverneur, Oswegatchie, Waddington, Lisbon, Madrid, Louisville, DeKalb, DePeyster, Hermon, Edwards, Fowler, Rossie, Macomb, Morristown and Hammond.